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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. charge — a price
  5. last — final
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — to push
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. last — finally
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — to go on
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cell — in a prison

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