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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mate — a friend
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — help
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fine — all right
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. fine — high quality
  23. press — to push
  24. tear — from crying

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