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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. press — to push
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bass — low music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — money
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cabinet — ministers

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