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

Word bank: foot · chest · press · temple · capital · pitch

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. capital — money
  4. press — a publisher
  5. capital — a city
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chest — a box
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. press — to push
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. temple — side of the head

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