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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.

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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: lash · fork · stem · degree · march · capital · press · net

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — in sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. net — for catching
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — an amount
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stem — to come from
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. capital — a city
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fork — in a road
  18. net — after costs
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — money
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. degree — temperature

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