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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bank — of a river
  4. kid — to tease
  5. current — electric
  6. bank — for money
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. capital — a city
  10. bank — for money
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kid — child
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — in music
  17. march — the month
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. current — happening now
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. current — of water
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. march — the month

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