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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 120 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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — to push
  3. mate — to breed
  4. current — electric
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. press — a publisher
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. root — of a word
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. root — the cause
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cold — not warm
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a plant
  24. mate — a friend

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