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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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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: cold · deal · bank · scale · press · staff

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. staff — employees
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — of a river
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bank — for money
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness

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