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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mate — a partner
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. mate — to breed
  9. foot — a measure
  10. plane — a tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mate — a friend
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rest — a break
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — size or range
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — in music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. foot — the bottom

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