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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. press — newspapers
  7. present — a gift
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — of the year
  12. press — to push
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. present — there
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — to come from

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