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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — money
  6. cap — of ice
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. ground — a position
  22. rule — a law
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bowl — a football 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