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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · press · shower · mine · ball · capital · last · stand

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — for pool
  4. press — to push
  5. last — to go on
  6. ball — a dance
  7. last — final
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cue — a signal
  11. stand — to bear
  12. ball — a great time
  13. press — a publisher
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. mine — for digging
  18. last — finally
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cue — a hint
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ball — a round shape

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