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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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468
Word bank
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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. capital — a city
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wound — an injury
  11. press — to push
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. toast — bread
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fork — in a road

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