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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — to visit
  6. capital — money
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. press — to push
  9. field — for sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — music
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — child
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. sharp — clever
  22. capital — a city
  23. hand — in cards
  24. capital — a big letter

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