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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · drill · rush · mine · wind · squash · rock · file

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. capital — a city
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. file — a document
  12. rock — a stone
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rush — hurry
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rock — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rush — to hurry

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