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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: capital · drill · bark · spell · pit · bowl · tube · toast

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pit — a hole
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spell — magic
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — bread
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — army training
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — money
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spell — a short time

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