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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. press — a publisher
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — to push
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. clip — a video
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. sharp — clever
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. swing — in golf
  24. press — newspapers

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