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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. press — to push
  4. sharp — clever
  5. band — a music group
  6. key — in music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. key — for a lock
  10. scale — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — money
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. press — newspapers
  18. lean — thin
  19. band — a ring
  20. scale — size or range
  21. lean — to bend
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. capital — a city
  24. pound — for dogs

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