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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 120 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 · last · tear · mug · land · press · chair · lash

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. chair — a leader
  3. press — to push
  4. land — to come down
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — to go on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. land — a country
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mug — a face
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. press — newspapers
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chair — a professorship

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