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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 116 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: capital · track · pitcher · spring · board · lean · drill · content

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — a committee
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. drill — the tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — a city
  19. track — a song
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — thin
  24. track — a path

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