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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — high quality
  4. capital — a city
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — a coil
  10. press — to push
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fine — all right
  14. ground — a position
  15. press — a publisher
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. press — newspapers
  21. capital — money
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. sharp — clever

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