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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. press — to push
  3. pass — a permit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rest — a break
  6. capital — money
  7. mug — a face
  8. game — a match
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wind — to turn a key

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