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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — low music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — for paper
  17. root — the cause
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. press — to push
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fork — in a road
  23. root — of a word
  24. lean — to bend

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