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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. shower — to wash
  3. capital — a city
  4. drill — the tool
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. track — a path
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — money
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cell — a phone
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — rain
  20. drill — a practice
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. drill — army training
  24. capital — a big letter

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