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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. press — newspapers
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kick — in football
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. present — the time now
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mate — a friend
  22. game — a match
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. trunk — of a car

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