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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — money
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. dip — to sink
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. press — to push
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. craft — boats
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. capital — a city
  19. tear — to rip
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. press — newspapers
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. net — after costs

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