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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. press — to push
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a document
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. press — a publisher
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. file — a tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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