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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: press · bowl · mine · capital · pop · band · net · rest

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. press — to push
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. net — in sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pop — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pop — to visit
  15. net — after costs
  16. rest — what's left
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. rest — a break
  20. mine — for digging
  21. press — newspapers
  22. capital — a city
  23. pop — soda
  24. mine — belonging to me

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