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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — money
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. capital — a city
  10. row — a line
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — army training
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tube — a container
  18. cap — of ice
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stand — to bear
  24. press — to push

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