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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. press — to push
  3. game — a match
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. last — finally
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. capital — a city
  12. ground — crushed
  13. press — a publisher
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. last — final
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. ground — a position
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — to go on

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