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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: bear · cue · mouse · bat · field · capital · press · dip

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. press — to push
  7. field — a subject
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cue — a signal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bat — for baseball

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