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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: ground · tear · bear · stock · capital · press · ruler · rush

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. press — newspapers
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — goods
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — the earth
  18. capital — money
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. press — to push
  23. ground — a position
  24. bear — the animal

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