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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. net — in sport
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. cell — a phone
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. net — after costs
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. press — newspapers
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bank — of a river
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cell — in biology
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. net — for catching

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