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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: fan · bank · arm · kid · capital · file · scale · press

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. press — newspapers
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. file — a document
  15. press — a publisher
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. file — a tool
  20. scale — in music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a line of people
  23. scale — size or range
  24. press — to push

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