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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · nail · chair · press · stock · capital · wake · game

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — a trail
  8. press — newspapers
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — money
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stock — goods
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chair — a leader
  17. game — a match
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. press — a publisher
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — for a hammer

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