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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 120 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: wind · press · bank · capital · vault · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. press — newspapers
  5. season — in sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. press — to push
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. capital — money
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bank — for money

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