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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. press — a publisher
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — tied together
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mate — a partner
  13. capital — a city
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pit — in a race
  16. spring — of water
  17. capital — money
  18. press — to push
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bound — certain
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bound — obliged
  23. prune — to trim
  24. press — newspapers

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