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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. capital — a city
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. swing — to play on
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — to come down
  9. roll — a list
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. land — ground
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. swing — music
  15. press — newspapers
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — a country
  21. swing — in golf
  22. roll — a cake
  23. capital — money
  24. racket — for tennis

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