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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. object — a thing
  5. court — of a king
  6. craft — boats
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — money
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. press — newspapers
  13. craft — a skill
  14. press — to push
  15. object — to protest
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wind — moving air
  18. object — an aim

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