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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. press — to push
  6. press — newspapers
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. drill — army training
  9. spell — magic
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. deal — to handle
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spell — a short time
  17. drill — the tool
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a city
  20. drill — a practice
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spell — letters

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