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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 · leaves · rest · capital · hand · perch · rush · field

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — farmland
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rush — hurry
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — a break
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. perch — the fish
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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