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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. spell — magic
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. spell — letters
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mate — a friend
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. race — a contest
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — humankind
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. race — the arms race
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mark — a trace

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