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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. root — of a word
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. press — to push
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. press — a publisher
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. capital — a city
  17. root — the cause
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — the animal

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