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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: toast · court · bound · press · mouse · season · current · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. court — for sport
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. press — a publisher
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. current — of water
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. season — of the year
  10. court — of a king
  11. press — newspapers
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. current — electric
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. season — in sport
  16. court — of law
  17. bound — obliged
  18. current — happening now
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — to push
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. toast — bread

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