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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: capital · clip · bear · march · bowl · drill · face · chair

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — the animal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chair — a leader
  12. face — to point toward
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — a city
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — the tool
  18. face — to confront
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. face — part of the head
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — for paper
  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