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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fine · bowl · calf · capital · bear · cold · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. press — newspapers
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. capital — a city
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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