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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. saw — the tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. suit — clothes
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. suit — to fit
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. suit — in cards
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — completely
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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