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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. court — of a king
  7. mug — a cup
  8. press — newspapers
  9. last — final
  10. capital — money
  11. mug — a face
  12. rule — a law
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. last — to go on
  15. press — to push
  16. pound — a weight
  17. last — finally
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — for sport
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fork — in a road
  23. court — of law
  24. pound — to hit hard

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