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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. season — of the year
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fall — the season
  15. club — a group
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — an illness
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ball — a great time
  23. club — for golf
  24. ruler — a monarch

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