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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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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 · shower · press · drill · saw · bark · ball · bound

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. drill — army training
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — tied together
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ball — a dance
  11. press — a publisher
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — a city
  15. press — newspapers
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — to push
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. shower — to wash
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bound — certain

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