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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
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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: rule · press · band · drill · bark · wound · court · land

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — of law
  7. rule — a law
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. court — for sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — ground
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — army training
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rule — government
  21. press — to push
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. band — a ring

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