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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: wake · plane · capital · sharp · chest · key · press · squash

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. key — the most important part
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chest — of your body
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — to push
  15. plane — a tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. press — a publisher
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. key — for a lock
  24. sharp — with an edge

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