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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — newspapers
  8. capital — money
  9. cell — in biology
  10. press — a publisher
  11. shower — to wash
  12. swing — in golf
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — a city
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. swing — to play on
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. dip — to sink
  20. fall — to drop
  21. swing — music
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — the season
  24. press — to push

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