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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: press · row · capital · pass · pound · ground

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pound — a weight
  3. ground — crushed
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a line
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. press — newspapers
  9. row — to paddle
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. ground — a position
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pass — a permit
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a city

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