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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — money
  5. press — to push
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. court — for sport
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. scale — in music
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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