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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 116 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: track · racket · bulb · band · capital · drill · march · sharp

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — army training
  4. track — a song
  5. march — music
  6. band — a ring
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bulb — for light
  9. sharp — clever
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — a city
  17. track — to keep track
  18. drill — a practice
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a music group
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — a loud noise

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