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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bark — to shout
  13. press — to push
  14. content — happy
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spring — the season
  21. content — the amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. press — a publisher
  24. capital — money

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