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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. capital — money
  4. season — in sport
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. track — a path
  7. press — a publisher
  8. toast — bread
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. season — of the year
  12. track — to keep track
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. track — a song
  16. capital — a city
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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