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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. staff — employees
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — a publisher
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. press — to push
  13. pit — a hole
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pit — in a race
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — money
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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