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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 120 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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pop — music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pop — soda
  10. lie — to recline
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. saw — the tool
  14. root — of a word
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chest — of your body
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. root — of a plant
  24. press — to push

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