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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 124 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. root — of a word
  3. staff — a stick
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. capital — money
  6. press — newspapers
  7. capital — a city
  8. staff — employees
  9. fine — high quality
  10. press — to push
  11. root — of a plant
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bank — for money
  14. root — the cause
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bank — of a river
  17. press — a publisher
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. staff — employees
  23. bank — for money
  24. row — to paddle

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