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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 116 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: board · file · bore · pass · capital · fall · spring · kid

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. file — a tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. spring — the season
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. fall — the season
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. board — to get on
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — of water
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a line of people
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pass — to spend time

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