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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · pit · cap · racket · hand · capital · scale · rush

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — army training
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. capital — a city
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cap — of ice
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — help
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — size or range
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pit — in a race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com