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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: chair · bank · last · bulb · season · capital · rest · press

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bank — for money
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — a city
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bank — of a river
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. press — to push
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. last — to go on
  20. rest — a break
  21. season — in sport
  22. last — finally
  23. rest — what's left
  24. capital — money

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