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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. season — in sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. bank — for money
  11. press — a publisher
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mate — a friend
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. season — of the year
  17. bank — of a river
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — child
  21. press — to push
  22. bank — for money
  23. kid — to tease
  24. capital — a city

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