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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bore — to tire
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. capital — money
  11. press — a publisher
  12. tear — from crying
  13. press — to push
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. content — the amount
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a document
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a tool
  24. content — happy

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