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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: racket · mark · capital · press · race · pitch

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitch — completely
  3. race — humankind
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mark — a trace
  11. press — newspapers
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — to push
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitch — a sports field

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