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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bound — certain
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. press — newspapers
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — boats
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bound — tied together
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. court — for sport
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. court — of a king
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — of law

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