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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: fork · game · capital · wake · press · rule

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rule — a law
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. press — to push
  9. rule — government
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. wake — a trail
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — a city
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fork — a garden 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