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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a city
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — in golf
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — money
  10. charge — a price
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — hurry
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. wind — moving air

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