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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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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: wind · charge · lie · capital · press · cold · swing · fork

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — in control
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fork — in a road
  6. press — newspapers
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. press — to push
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lie — to recline
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. capital — money
  17. swing — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. charge — electricity
  21. press — a publisher
  22. charge — a price
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lie — an untruth

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