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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pop — soda
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a ring
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. band — a music group
  14. game — a match
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. press — to push
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. press — a publisher
  24. calf — a young animal

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