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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
468
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 · lash · bass · capital · roll · wind · straw · sharp

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — low music
  4. roll — a list
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. press — newspapers
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — money
  24. straw — a straw man

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