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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — to rob
  3. press — a publisher
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — of ice
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — to push
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — money
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — a hat
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mug — a face
  19. foot — a measure
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tube — a container
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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