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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: fan · rash · cabinet · leaves · capital · prune · last · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. press — newspapers
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. last — to go on
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. press — to push
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. rash — hasty
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rash — a series

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