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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: season · drill · plane · snap · press · mug · mine · capital

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — a publisher
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. mug — a face
  9. drill — the tool
  10. press — to push
  11. snap — to click
  12. drill — army training
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mug — to rob
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mug — a cup
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. capital — money
  21. mine — for digging
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. mine — an explosive

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