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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: cap · land · coach · pit · mark · rock · content · drill

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. land — ground
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. content — the amount
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rock — music
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mark — a trace
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. drill — the tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. mark — a grade
  23. land — a country
  24. pit — in a race

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