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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — child
  6. cue — a hint
  7. press — newspapers
  8. spell — letters
  9. cue — for pool
  10. capital — money
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ball — a great time
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spell — a short time
  16. press — to push
  17. chair — a leader
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cue — a signal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. spell — magic
  24. press — a publisher

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