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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. board — to get on
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — money
  5. last — finally
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — final
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. press — newspapers
  11. hand — help
  12. press — to push
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. hand — in cards
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — a publisher
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. board — a committee
  24. coach — a trainer

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