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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pop · bat · capital · bank · lash · cell · sharp

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bank — of a river
  3. press — a publisher
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. capital — money
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pop — soda
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bank — for money
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. bank — for money
  17. sharp — clever
  18. press — newspapers
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. press — to push
  24. cell — a phone

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