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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — a path
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — a publisher
  5. track — to keep track
  6. root — of a word
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rash — a series
  19. press — to push
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. root — the cause
  23. staff — employees
  24. track — a song

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