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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 · spell · arm · capital · roll · track · shower · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spell — magic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. roll — a list
  10. chest — a box
  11. shower — rain
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. drill — army training
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. track — a path
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. track — to keep track
  23. capital — money
  24. arm — a part of something

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