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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rock — a stone
  3. content — happy
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. content — the amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wound — an injury
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rock — music
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — newspapers
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. press — to push
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wind — to turn a key

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