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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: capital · perch · wound · wave · wind · fall · fine · press

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — newspapers
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — to drop
  15. press — to push
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wound — an injury
  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