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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lean — thin
  3. capital — a city
  4. press — newspapers
  5. content — the amount
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. game — a match
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bore — to drill
  11. prune — to trim
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. press — to push
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bore — to tire
  22. capital — money
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. prune — to trim

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