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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
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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: wind · press · capital · rock · rash · march

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rock — a stone
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rock — music
  8. rash — a series
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. rash — hasty
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — a city
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. march — music
  18. wind — moving air

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