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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 124 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: press · fan · bowl · mate · cell · capital

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cell — in biology
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. capital — money
  9. press — to push
  10. capital — a city
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air

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