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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 120 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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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: pop · press · wind · board · capital · stick · cell · object

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. board — to get on
  4. pop — to visit
  5. board — a committee
  6. object — an aim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cell — a phone
  10. capital — a city
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pop — soda
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money
  19. press — to push
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — to protest
  22. pop — music
  23. press — a publisher
  24. object — a thing

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