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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. band — a ring
  6. press — newspapers
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rash — a series
  10. capital — a city
  11. last — final
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a music group
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — the animal

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