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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · bat · drill · ground · hide · stock · capital · spell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — a face
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stock — goods
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mug — to rob
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — the animal
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — money
  23. mug — a cup
  24. stock — shares

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