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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rest — a break
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. press — to push
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. press — a publisher
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — army training
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. drill — the tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — the season
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — in music
  23. rest — what's left
  24. press — newspapers

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