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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 120 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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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 · pit · lean · bay · press · drill

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. 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. press — a publisher
  2. capital — money
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. lean — to bend
  9. press — to push
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. drill — the tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. press — newspapers
  14. drill — a practice
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — army training
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. 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