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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 116 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pit — a hole
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. fine — high quality
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fine — all right
  20. press — to push
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. capital — a city
  23. press — newspapers
  24. last — final

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