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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · squash · file · bear · bass · mine · press · mark

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bass — the fish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a city
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bear — the animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bass — low music
  24. file — a tool

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