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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — money
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — temperature
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. march — music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. squash — to crush
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. capital — a city
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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