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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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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: capital · roll · stand · kid · press · wind

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. capital — a city
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. stand — to bear
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. press — to push
  9. kid — to tease
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — child
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. press — newspapers
  17. roll — a list
  18. press — a publisher

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