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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: charge · band · stand · spell · bore · clip · capital · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — to cut
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — money
  10. band — a ring
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. charge — in control
  16. bore — to tire
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — a video
  19. bore — to drill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. drill — the tool
  24. capital — a city

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