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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. season — in sport
  4. mark — a grade
  5. capital — money
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. press — to push
  11. mark — a trace
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. press — a publisher
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — a coil
  18. press — newspapers
  19. spring — the season
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. capital — a city
  24. spring — of water

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