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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: rest · degree · file · press · content · drill · bank · staff

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. drill — army training
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bank — for money
  6. press — to push
  7. bank — for money
  8. rest — a break
  9. staff — employees
  10. press — a publisher
  11. file — a tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. drill — a practice
  14. staff — a stick
  15. content — happy
  16. file — a document
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. drill — the tool

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