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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. press — to push
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. land — ground
  10. press — newspapers
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — to come down
  14. capital — money
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — for a lock
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. fall — the season
  22. key — in music
  23. land — a country
  24. coach — a trainer

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