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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. charge — in control
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. charge — electricity
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rush — hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. branch — a division
  20. press — newspapers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — a publisher
  23. capital — money
  24. charge — a price

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