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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: march · press · fork · rush · bay · scale · kid · capital

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. press — a publisher
  5. scale — size or range
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. capital — money
  9. march — the month
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. kid — child
  23. capital — a city
  24. march — music

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