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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: drill · capital · content · band · lie · roll · bulb · last

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. roll — a list
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. content — happy
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. drill — army training
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. capital — a city
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bulb — for light
  20. roll — a cake
  21. capital — money
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lie — to recline
  24. content — videos and posts

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