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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — a city
  3. spring — a coil
  4. perch — the fish
  5. press — newspapers
  6. row — a line
  7. press — to push
  8. capital — money
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mate — a partner
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — government
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — a publisher
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. squash — the vegetable

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