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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — crushed
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — to paddle
  9. press — to push
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. capital — money
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — a position
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wind — moving air
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ground — the earth
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bear — the animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. sharp — clever

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