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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. root — the cause
  4. squash — to crush
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ball — a great time
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — rain
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. root — of a word
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — newspapers
  15. capital — money
  16. shower — to wash
  17. root — of a plant
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. press — to push
  20. squash — the sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  24. ball — a dance

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