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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. press — a publisher
  5. face — to confront
  6. capital — money
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. rash — hasty
  19. capital — a city
  20. rash — a series
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. row — a line
  24. chair — a leader

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