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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · press · wound · fine · racket · bass · capital · rash

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — a series
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the fish
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bass — low music
  15. press — to push
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fine — high quality
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fine — all right
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — a publisher

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