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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: band · fine · drill · calf · file · capital · cell · squash

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — to crush
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. squash — the sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. capital — money
  16. cell — in biology
  17. band — a ring
  18. file — a line of people
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a document
  21. fine — all right
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. drill — a practice

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