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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. can — a tin
  4. press — newspapers
  5. rule — government
  6. clip — for paper
  7. game — a match
  8. press — a publisher
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — to push
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — in cards
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hand — help
  17. rule — a law
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — to be able to
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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