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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 · last · lean · capital · mark · face · pass · branch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. press — newspapers
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mark — a grade
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. last — final
  14. pass — a permit
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. branch — a division
  21. press — a publisher
  22. face — to confront
  23. mark — a trace
  24. branch — of a tree

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