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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: row · fan · press · capital · snap · wind · prune · spell

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. press — to push
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spell — a short time
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spell — letters
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spell — magic
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. row — a line
  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