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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: wound · drill · hide · capital · pass · last · chip · stick

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. drill — the tool
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. drill — army training
  13. pass — a permit
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — money
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. last — final
  24. capital — a city

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