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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. kid — child
  4. capital — a city
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. file — a document
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. press — to push
  11. ball — a great time
  12. scale — size or range
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. scale — in music
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — money

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