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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: straw · wound · cell · squash · press · capital · key · temple

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. squash — to crush
  3. capital — money
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — in music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. press — to push
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — a phone
  15. key — for a lock
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. squash — the sport
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cell — in biology
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. press — newspapers
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — a city

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