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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — size or range
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. content — happy
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ground — a position
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — a city
  18. march — music
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ground — crushed
  21. scale — in music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. scale — for weighing

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