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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: swing · drill · fall · press · staff · spring · net · capital

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. capital — a city
  3. swing — in golf
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — the season
  9. staff — a stick
  10. drill — a practice
  11. swing — music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. swing — to play on
  14. staff — employees
  15. capital — money
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spring — of water
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. staff — employees
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — after costs

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