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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — a practice
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. board — a committee
  6. staff — employees
  7. drill — the tool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. last — finally
  10. board — to get on
  11. staff — a stick
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — money
  16. last — final
  17. capital — a city
  18. staff — employees
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ball — a great time
  22. drill — army training
  23. press — to push
  24. last — to go on

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