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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 120 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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468
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. track — a path
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — a song
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. press — a publisher
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. capital — money
  11. ground — crushed
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — a city
  19. press — newspapers
  20. track — to keep track
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — the earth

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