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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 116 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
468
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 · press · bowl · tear · land · bark · pitcher · present

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bark — to shout
  4. present — the time now
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. present — a gift
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. press — to push
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — there
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — a city
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — money
  24. press — newspapers

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