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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: capital · staff · press · shower · mouse · file · ground · fine

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. press — newspapers
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fine — high quality
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. press — a publisher
  9. staff — a stick
  10. file — a document
  11. capital — a city
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fine — all right
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — money
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ground — a position
  19. press — to push
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. file — a line of people

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