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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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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: tear · chair · bowl · press · snap · wound · mouse · bank

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bank — for money
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — of a river
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. press — newspapers

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