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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · press · shower · capital · arm · cap · game · bark

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — to shout
  4. press — to push
  5. cap — of ice
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a match
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — wild animals
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cap — a hat
  22. present — a gift
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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