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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: key · mug · march · drill · land · craft · capital · spell

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. key — in music
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — to come down
  6. drill — the tool
  7. march — music
  8. land — ground
  9. craft — boats
  10. spell — magic
  11. mug — a face
  12. key — the most important part
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mug — to rob
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — army training
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — money
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — for a lock
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a big letter

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