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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. cue — for pool
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — of water
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. band — a ring
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. staff — a stick
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a music group
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cue — a hint
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cue — a signal
  24. band — a rubber band

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