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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: press · net · patient · cell · board · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — money
  6. net — in sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. press — to push
  10. board — to get on
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. board — a committee
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in a prison

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