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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 120 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: press · pop · perch · land · rule · capital · march · bound

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — music
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bound — tied together
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bound — certain
  14. pop — to visit
  15. march — music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — ground
  18. pop — soda
  19. rule — a law
  20. press — a publisher
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. rule — government

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