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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.

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: season · dip · chair · wind · pitch · capital · drill · rush

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. drill — a practice
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. capital — money
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pitch — completely
  24. drill — the tool

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