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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. face — to confront
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for dancing
  6. press — newspapers
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tube — the underground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — a container
  15. cell — in biology
  16. club — for golf
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. club — a group
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. press — a publisher
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — a phone

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