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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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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. staff — a stick
  3. row — to paddle
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — an amount
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. staff — employees
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a city
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — money
  18. press — a publisher

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