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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a line of people
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. firm — decided
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hand — help
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. capital — money
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. game — a match
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — a company

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