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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: capital · bark · season · press · march · mug · firm · hand

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. press — a publisher
  5. march — music
  6. mug — a face
  7. firm — decided
  8. capital — a city
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mug — to rob
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hand — help
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. firm — steady
  22. hand — in cards
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. press — to push

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