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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. present — a gift
  5. scale — in music
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — to push
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — newspapers
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. present — the time now
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. present — there
  24. scale — size or range

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