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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bound — obliged
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bound — certain
  14. face — to confront
  15. capital — a city
  16. press — to push
  17. bound — tied together
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rock — a stone
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — temperature

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