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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fall — the season
  6. capital — a city
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — ground
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — money
  11. press — newspapers
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. land — to come down
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. press — to push
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. press — a publisher
  21. hand — help
  22. bank — of a river
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bank — for money

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