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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. capital — money
  8. sharp — clever
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — to rip
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. squash — the vegetable

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