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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cell — a phone
  3. press — to push
  4. pop — soda
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pop — music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pop — to visit
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. press — a publisher
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. wind — moving air

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