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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 120 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 · capital · rest · clip · bear · rush · rock · ball

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bear — the animal
  11. drill — army training
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. ball — a dance
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — music
  17. capital — money
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rush — hurry

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