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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. capital — money
  4. current — of water
  5. capital — a city
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — a lid
  12. file — a document
  13. pit — in a race
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. current — electric
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. current — happening now
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. press — to push
  22. kid — child
  23. pit — a hole
  24. file — a tool

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