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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. last — to go on
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. press — to push
  6. hand — in cards
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. last — final
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. face — to confront
  15. charge — electricity
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stem — to come from
  18. charge — in control
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — a price
  21. toast — bread
  22. last — finally
  23. press — newspapers
  24. face — to point toward

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