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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: club · snap · land · press · bay · capital · field · pop

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. pop — soda
  5. club — a group
  6. land — ground
  7. field — a subject
  8. press — to push
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. capital — money
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. field — for sport
  14. pop — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to click
  18. press — a publisher
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. club — for dancing

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