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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: fall · band · mug · wound · staff · leaves · capital · press

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. press — to push
  6. staff — a stick
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mug — to rob
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — the season
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. staff — employees

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