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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. content — the amount
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. press — a publisher
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — to breed
  9. last — final
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. press — newspapers
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — finally
  19. capital — a city
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. press — to push
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. kick — in football
  24. capital — money

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