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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — not warm
  3. press — a publisher
  4. race — humankind
  5. kick — in football
  6. press — newspapers
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. march — music
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. capital — money
  11. board — a committee
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — to get on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — a contest
  17. press — to push
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — a division
  24. kick — with a leg

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