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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — certain
  4. cue — a signal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — money
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. capital — a city
  10. bound — obliged
  11. press — newspapers
  12. swing — to play on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cue — for pool
  21. press — to push
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fall — the season
  24. bound — tied together

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