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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. capital — money
  4. press — to push
  5. mark — a grade
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bear — the animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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