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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.

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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — farmland
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — money
  11. snap — to click
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. press — to push
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bank — of a river
  23. press — newspapers
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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