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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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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: rash · press · kick · rest · capital · cell · present · scale

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rash — a series
  7. rest — what's left
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rash — hasty
  10. present — a gift
  11. press — to push
  12. cell — in biology
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. scale — in music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — the time now
  18. cell — a phone
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. present — there
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. capital — a city
  23. rest — a break
  24. press — newspapers

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