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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — money
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — help
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — an injury
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — an amount
  24. press — to push

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