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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. last — final
  7. rest — what's left
  8. press — to push
  9. capital — a city
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rest — a break
  13. swing — to play on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — money
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. last — finally
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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