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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. current — happening now
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — newspapers
  6. craft — a skill
  7. press — to push
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. press — a publisher
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. current — electric
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chest — a box
  23. current — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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