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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rest — what's left
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rash — a series
  6. press — to push
  7. spring — of water
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. band — a music group
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spring — a coil
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — clever
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rest — a break
  24. fork — to eat with

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