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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 · bat · trunk · capital · staff · date · pitcher · rest

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. staff — employees
  4. drill — army training
  5. rest — a break
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — a city
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — money
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. staff — employees

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