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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — money
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a city
  12. snap — to click
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pop — music
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — a subject
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. press — to push
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. field — for sport

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