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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: press · capital · fan · ground · craft · roll · stock · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. craft — a skill
  3. roll — a cake
  4. capital — a city
  5. ground — the earth
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. stock — goods
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. press — a publisher
  10. craft — boats
  11. firm — a company
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stock — shares
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — money
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. roll — a list
  19. ground — a position
  20. firm — decided
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. press — to push

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