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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: press · plane · band · stock · capital · snap · hand · prune

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hand — in cards
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. press — newspapers
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — goods
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — help
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — to push
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. press — a publisher
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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