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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. press — to push
  13. sharp — clever
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. date — the fruit
  16. game — a match
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — wild animals
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. toast — bread
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. capital — a city

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