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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tube — the underground
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. capital — money
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. press — to push
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pound — a weight
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. capital — a big letter

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