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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — of water
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pop — music
  9. march — music
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. press — newspapers
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — soda
  19. press — a publisher
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pitch — completely
  23. capital — money
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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