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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — a city
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. press — newspapers
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. content — the amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — money
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. press — to push
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — happy
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wake — before a funeral

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