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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — to handle
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. capital — a city
  8. chest — of your body
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. chest — of your body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pitch — completely
  19. roll — a list
  20. press — to push
  21. capital — money
  22. roll — a cake
  23. chest — a box
  24. deal — a big deal

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