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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. capital — a city
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. press — to push
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bear — the animal
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. ball — a great time
  14. capital — money
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. land — a country
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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