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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.

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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: roll · bore · scale · press · ground · march · bat · capital

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a city
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bore — to drill
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ground — the earth
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bat — the animal
  15. press — newspapers
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — in music
  19. press — to push
  20. march — music
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bore — to tire
  24. ground — crushed

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