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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. firm — steady
  4. press — to push
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spell — letters
  8. kid — child
  9. wake — a trail
  10. press — a publisher
  11. capital — money
  12. firm — decided
  13. bass — low music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a city
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — newspapers
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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