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

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. press — to push
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. kick — in football
  13. craft — boats
  14. press — newspapers
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a city

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