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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: clip · current · bulb · lean · press · court · capital · mouse

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. capital — money
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. lean — thin
  10. court — of law
  11. press — to push
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — electric
  15. court — of a king
  16. press — a publisher
  17. court — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. press — newspapers
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  24. current — of water

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