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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: trunk · drill · cell · lie · scale · land · rush · press

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. press — newspapers
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. scale — size or range
  9. land — ground
  10. drill — the tool
  11. press — a publisher
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cell — in biology
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lie — to recline
  22. press — to push
  23. lie — an untruth
  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