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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. track — a song
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bound — certain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. press — newspapers
  14. track — a path
  15. press — to push
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bound — obliged
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rest — a break
  24. sharp — clever

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