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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: ground · band · drill · press · tear · content · scale · net

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — to push
  3. drill — a practice
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — happy
  8. net — after costs
  9. scale — size or range
  10. band — a music group
  11. ground — crushed
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ground — a position
  14. drill — army training
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — the tool
  18. press — newspapers
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ground — the earth
  24. scale — in music

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