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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 120 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: capital · mate · sharp · hand · fan · band · press · bear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — money
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — help
  6. press — to push
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. band — a music group
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mate — a partner
  18. band — a ring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bear — the animal

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