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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 124 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. swing — to play on
  11. tube — a container
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. swing — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. press — to push
  22. swing — in golf
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tube — in a tire

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