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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 124 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 · stand · mine · capital · ruler · jam · stock · chest

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. drill — army training
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chest — of your body
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. capital — money
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stock — shares
  17. stand — to bear
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stock — goods
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mine — belonging to me

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