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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · deal · bark · press · stem · capital · scale · mine

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. capital — money
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — army training
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. press — a publisher
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — to come from
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. capital — a city

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