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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: press · capital · racket · drill · degree · stand · leaves · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stand — to bear
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. drill — the tool
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. capital — money
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. press — to push
  17. degree — temperature
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. drill — army training
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. leaves — to go away

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