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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 116 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
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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: mine · prune · bark · march · row · press · capital · firm

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. press — a publisher
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. firm — a company
  5. march — music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — money
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. press — to push
  11. bark — to shout
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. march — the month
  16. row — a line
  17. mine — for digging
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. march — the month
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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