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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rush — hurry
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. march — the month
  22. press — newspapers
  23. march — music
  24. fork — a garden tool

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