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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: suit · wind · rock · face · press · capital

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — money
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. face — part of the head
  9. press — newspapers
  10. suit — in cards
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rock — a stone
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. suit — clothes

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