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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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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cap — a hat
  11. press — newspapers
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — of ice
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. capital — a city
  18. press — to push
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bark — to shout
  24. capital — money

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