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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. press — a publisher
  3. club — for golf
  4. press — newspapers
  5. club — for dancing
  6. press — to push
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — of water
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pop — soda
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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