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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. present — the time now
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fine — all right
  8. fall — the season
  9. ground — crushed
  10. capital — money
  11. press — a publisher
  12. present — there
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. present — a gift
  20. track — to keep track
  21. ground — a position
  22. press — to push
  23. capital — a city
  24. press — newspapers

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