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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — in sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. bound — certain
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. season — of the year
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — money
  19. press — to push
  20. cell — in biology
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. press — a publisher

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