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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 · firm · cold · deal · press · fan · clip · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — to push
  6. firm — a company
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. clip — to cut
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. press — newspapers
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — steady
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bound — obliged
  20. capital — money
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bound — certain
  23. press — a publisher
  24. deal — an agreement

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