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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 · press · bowl · tear · land · bark

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — to shout
  3. land — ground
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. capital — a city
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. capital — money
  18. press — to push

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