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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. track — a path
  5. mug — a face
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. degree — an amount
  10. capital — a city
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — a stone
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. fine — a penalty

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