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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. net — after costs
  4. shower — to wash
  5. row — to paddle
  6. press — to push
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — money
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. shower — rain
  13. net — in sport
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — a city
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. net — for catching
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — the 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