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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · capital · scale · march · press · bank

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — a city
  5. scale — size or range
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — to tease
  10. march — music
  11. bank — of a river
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bank — for money
  17. capital — money
  18. scale — in music

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