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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 124 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — to come down
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — newspapers
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — a country
  22. rest — a break
  23. fork — in a road
  24. land — ground

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