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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: wake · bass · press · field · bank · ground · capital · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — a subject
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — the fish
  10. press — a publisher
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bank — for money
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — of a river
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bass — low music
  21. drill — army training
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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