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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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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: file · perch · race · capital · press · rule

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. perch — the fish
  3. race — humankind
  4. press — to push
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rule — government
  7. file — a line of people
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. capital — money
  12. rule — a law
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. race — a contest
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a document

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