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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. file — a line of people
  4. press — a publisher
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. press — to push
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. capital — money
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — to cut
  16. object — a thing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. file — a tool
  19. pit — in a race
  20. clip — a video
  21. press — newspapers
  22. capital — a city
  23. object — to protest
  24. file — a document

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