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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cold — an illness
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cap — a hat
  5. row — a line
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — a division
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. press — newspapers
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a lid
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — for golf
  24. capital — money

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