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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. court — of law
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kick — in football
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. staff — employees
  10. court — of a king
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — music
  14. stock — goods
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — to push
  17. court — for sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. rash — a series
  22. staff — a stick
  23. press — newspapers
  24. capital — money

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