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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: fan · capital · perch · mate · rock · pitcher · bore · drill

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mate — a friend
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rock — a stone
  14. drill — a practice
  15. capital — a city
  16. bore — to tire
  17. drill — army training
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mate — to breed
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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