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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: last · bound · drill · perch · capital · cue · lean · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. last — finally
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pass — a permit
  7. lean — thin
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — army training
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bound — obliged
  13. last — to go on
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cue — a signal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cue — for pool
  20. last — final
  21. capital — a city
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bound — certain
  24. lean — to rest against

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