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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 · plane · deal · chest · press · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — to push
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — money
  9. press — a publisher
  10. deal — to handle
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — a tool
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — a city
  18. chest — a box

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