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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. press — to push
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — a publisher
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pit — a hole
  22. shower — rain
  23. bound — certain
  24. wave — of the sea

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