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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. board — a committee
  3. capital — a city
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — to come down
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — a country
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. press — to push
  15. bound — certain
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — money
  20. board — to get on
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — tied together
  24. board — a flat piece

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