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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: snap · capital · bass · bank · stock · game · press · pop

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. game — a match
  5. capital — money
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — shares
  9. bass — low music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pop — soda
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bank — for money
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bank — of a river
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. snap — to click
  24. stock — goods

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