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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — wild animals
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cap — a lid
  11. press — to push
  12. cap — of ice
  13. degree — an amount
  14. game — a match
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a hat

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