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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 116 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: bark · bass · capital · bear · dip · kick · row · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — the animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. row — a line
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. press — to push
  20. bass — low music
  21. capital — money
  22. bass — the fish
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — in football

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