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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: fan · straw · press · mouse · ground · prune · capital · band

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. press — newspapers
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ground — a position
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. press — to push
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. press — a publisher
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. capital — a city
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. prune — the fruit

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