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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: face · capital · trunk · drill · land · court · mark · press

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — money
  4. land — ground
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. press — to push
  8. drill — the tool
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. press — newspapers
  14. drill — a practice
  15. face — to confront
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — a city
  18. face — to point toward
  19. press — a publisher
  20. court — of law
  21. land — a country
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. trunk — of a tree

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