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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: kid · racket · capital · band · press · drill

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a ring
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. capital — a city
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — to push
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kid — child
  13. drill — a practice
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — money
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher

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