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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: mug · season · capital · trunk · content · drill · hand · hide

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mug — to rob
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mug — a cup
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — the amount
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — in cards
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. season — of the year
  23. mug — a face
  24. content — happy

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