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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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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: mine · jam · capital · cell · stand · bat · drill · lash

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stand — to bear
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. lash — to lash out

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