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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: drill · press · capital · fan · field · craft · bark · mate

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — a practice
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — a publisher
  6. drill — army training
  7. craft — boats
  8. press — to push
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — newspapers
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — money
  24. bark — of a tree

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