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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. suit — clothes
  4. press — to push
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. suit — in cards
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — newspapers
  9. content — happy
  10. last — to go on
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wound — an injury
  17. last — finally
  18. suit — to fit
  19. last — final
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — the amount
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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