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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. roll — a list
  4. last — finally
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — final
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — to trim
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pit — a hole
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pit — in a race
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. prune — the fruit

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