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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — a city
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. kick — in football
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. capital — money
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. press — to push
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cell — a phone

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