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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: capital · press · mark · branch · bound · field · cap · rule

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. branch — a division
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. rule — government
  13. field — farmland
  14. cap — of ice
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. press — to push
  18. rule — a law
  19. bound — obliged
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mark — a grade
  23. field — for sport
  24. bound — certain

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