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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: chair · press · bank · wake · content · mouse

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. content — the amount
  3. bank — for money
  4. wake — a trail
  5. press — to push
  6. content — happy
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bank — for money
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — newspapers
  18. content — videos and posts

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