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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — money
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bass — the fish
  8. field — a subject
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. suit — to fit
  16. file — a document
  17. suit — clothes
  18. file — a line of people

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