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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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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: object · capital · spring · firm · press · shower · rule · sharp

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. object — a thing
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — of water
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. firm — a company
  9. press — newspapers
  10. object — to protest
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — clever
  21. firm — decided
  22. object — an aim
  23. press — to push
  24. firm — steady

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