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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. track — a song
  6. cue — a hint
  7. capital — money
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. track — to keep track
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hand — help
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. press — a publisher
  19. track — a path
  20. capital — a city
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. press — newspapers

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