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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. spring — of water
  3. lean — thin
  4. press — newspapers
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — a coil
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — money
  11. land — to come down
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stock — shares
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. press — to push
  20. stock — goods
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. lean — to bend
  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