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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. press — to push
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fork — in a road
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. band — a music group
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. capital — money
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. band — a ring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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