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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — a city
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. present — there
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. lie — to recline
  9. march — music
  10. present — a gift
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. march — the month
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. present — the time now
  24. bowl — a football final

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