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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — not warm
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. press — to push
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mate — to breed
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. season — in sport
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. capital — a city
  20. mate — a partner
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — of the year

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