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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. can — a tin
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a city
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. field — farmland
  7. cue — a signal
  8. scale — in music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. press — newspapers
  11. can — to be able to
  12. capital — money
  13. press — to push
  14. field — a subject
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. can — a tin
  20. field — for sport
  21. cue — for pool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. press — a publisher
  24. hide — to keep secret

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