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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: scale · capital · press · sharp · staff · pop · wound · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — a city
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. capital — money
  9. pop — to visit
  10. scale — in music
  11. staff — employees
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — a stick
  15. scale — size or range
  16. staff — employees
  17. sharp — clever
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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