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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: press · foot · capital · staff · snap · date · rule · last

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. press — to push
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. date — the fruit
  10. last — to go on
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — final
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. last — finally
  15. staff — employees
  16. snap — to click
  17. press — newspapers
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. staff — a stick
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. staff — employees
  22. foot — a measure
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. foot — the bottom

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