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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. swing — to play on
  4. roll — a cake
  5. season — of the year
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. roll — a list
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. press — to push
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — a law
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rule — government
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — money
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. swing — music
  23. press — a publisher
  24. swing — in golf

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