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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: dip · bank · capital · shower · lean · stem · press · bark

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bank — for money
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. capital — money
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lean — thin
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bank — for money
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bark — to shout
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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