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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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468
Word bank
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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — in sport
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — a city
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. key — the most important part
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. row — to paddle
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — money
  20. press — newspapers
  21. row — a line
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. season — of the year

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