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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. band — a ring
  3. lean — to bend
  4. date — the fruit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. press — a publisher
  15. capital — money
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. lean — thin
  21. fine — all right
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. band — a music group
  24. press — to push

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