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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bear — the animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — hasty
  12. scale — in music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. press — to push
  17. net — in sport
  18. capital — money
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mark — a grade
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bear — the animal

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