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

Word bank: capital · cap · toast · press · prune · tear · straw · pit

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. press — to push
  3. cap — of ice
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — a lid
  8. capital — a city
  9. cap — a hat
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pit — in a race
  12. toast — bread
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pit — a hole
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. prune — to trim
  24. toast — the most admired

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