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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ground — the earth
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. capital — money
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. date — the fruit
  21. capital — a city
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. net — after costs

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