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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. press — to push
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. file — a tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. present — there
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a document
  18. court — for sport
  19. rock — music
  20. court — of a king
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — a stone
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. press — newspapers

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