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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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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 · trunk · race · wave · net · mate · capital · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mate — a friend
  11. net — after costs
  12. mate — a partner
  13. press — a publisher
  14. net — for catching
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — money
  19. race — the arms race
  20. press — newspapers
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. press — to push
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. bowl — a football final

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