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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 116 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 · cell · capital · pop · safe · wind

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pop — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. press — to push
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — soda
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — 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