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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bulb — for light
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — to push
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — a practice
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — army training

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