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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — for catching
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — a publisher
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. press — to push
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. capital — a big letter

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