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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. capital — money
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. press — to push
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spell — magic
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — a short time

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