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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. last — finally
  5. rock — music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. press — a publisher
  12. suit — to fit
  13. rock — a stone
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. suit — clothes
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. capital — money
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  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