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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: capital · wake · shower · board · press · fan · foot · cold

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. board — to get on
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — a trail
  6. board — a committee
  7. shower — to wash
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. foot — a measure
  10. capital — money
  11. press — to push
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — rain
  15. press — a publisher
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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