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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
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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: land · drill · bark · press · content · fall

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — to come down
  3. bark — to shout
  4. content — happy
  5. drill — army training
  6. press — to push
  7. fall — to drop
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — ground
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. drill — a practice
  15. press — newspapers
  16. content — the amount
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. land — a country

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