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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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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: mug · season · cabinet · capital · press · root · band · wound

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. press — to push
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a music group
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. season — in sport
  7. mug — to rob
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mug — a face
  18. root — the cause
  19. capital — money
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a word
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. root — of a plant

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