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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · squash · stem · chair · rash · press

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chair — a leader
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rash — hasty
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. stem — to come from
  15. squash — to crush
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chair — a professorship

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