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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — a line
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — money
  18. court — of law
  19. capital — a city
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — final
  24. court — for sport

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