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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. season — in sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. face — to confront
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. staff — a stick
  8. face — part of the head
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. press — a publisher
  12. pit — a hole
  13. press — to push
  14. staff — employees
  15. season — of the year
  16. face — to point toward
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — a series
  19. pit — in a race
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. staff — employees
  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