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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 116 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 · cabinet · game · press · bark · mate · band · chip

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chip — to eat
  3. press — newspapers
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. press — to push
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — money
  16. press — a publisher
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mate — a friend
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. band — a music group
  24. cabinet — ministers

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