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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 120 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 partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  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. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. press — newspapers
  8. capital — money
  9. press — to push
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — final
  13. rush — hurry
  14. last — finally
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — what's left
  18. present — the time now
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. last — to go on
  21. rest — a break
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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