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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fork — in a road
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. rush — hurry
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. press — to push
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. capital — money
  16. content — happy
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chair — a leader
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. leaves — of a tree

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