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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. spring — of water
  4. present — there
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. current — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — rain
  9. press — a publisher
  10. capital — money
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — electric
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. current — happening now
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. press — to push
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. press — newspapers

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