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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: swing · mark · bass · prune · press · capital · present · ball

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bass — low music
  3. mark — a trace
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mark — a grade
  6. present — there
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bass — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. press — to push
  11. swing — music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. present — a gift
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. capital — a city
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. present — the time now
  24. press — newspapers

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