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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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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — music
  3. current — electric
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. land — a country
  9. march — the month
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — money
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. press — a publisher
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain

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