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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. press — a publisher
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — army training
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pop — music
  8. season — of the year
  9. capital — money
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. drill — a practice
  12. press — to push
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — to visit
  21. dip — to sink
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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