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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 · tear · deal · capital · wave · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. press — a publisher
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. press — to push
  6. deal — to handle
  7. capital — money
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. press — newspapers
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — a city
  18. wave — of the sea

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