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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — ground
  6. press — to push
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fine — high quality
  17. key — in music
  18. land — to come down
  19. pitch — completely
  20. capital — a city
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. land — a country

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