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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. ball — a dance
  3. capital — a city
  4. can — a tin
  5. press — newspapers
  6. ball — a great time
  7. can — a tin
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bulb — for light
  11. press — to push
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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