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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: last · press · march · land · bank · object · wind · rest

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. press — a publisher
  3. land — ground
  4. last — finally
  5. rest — a break
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. bank — of a river
  9. last — final
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. object — an aim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. object — a thing
  18. land — a country
  19. last — to go on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. march — the month
  22. press — newspapers
  23. land — to come down
  24. object — to protest

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