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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: field · rock · press · spring · prune · bark · capital · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. capital — a city
  3. field — farmland
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spring — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. press — a publisher
  8. field — for sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — of water
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. field — a subject
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. press — to push

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