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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stand — to bear
  3. press — a publisher
  4. kid — child
  5. roll — a list
  6. press — to push
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. capital — money
  14. press — newspapers
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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