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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. race — humankind
  5. press — a publisher
  6. capital — a city
  7. ground — the earth
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. race — a contest
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ground — a position
  18. race — the arms race
  19. press — to push
  20. present — a gift
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to click
  23. press — newspapers
  24. capital — money

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