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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fall — to drop
  5. press — a publisher
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pop — soda
  8. fall — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. press — newspapers
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. press — to push
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pop — to visit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pop — music

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