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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. capital — a city
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. hand — help
  6. land — ground
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. land — a country
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. sharp — clever
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — in cards

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