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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: ruler · capital · trunk · drill · bat · season · race · press

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — a contest
  3. drill — the tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. capital — money
  7. drill — a practice
  8. press — a publisher
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. press — newspapers
  18. season — in sport
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — army training
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. press — to push

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