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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kick — in football
  3. drill — army training
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. net — for catching
  7. capital — money
  8. net — in sport
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. capital — a city

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