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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: row · capital · fork · pitch · squash · press

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. row — to paddle
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — a publisher
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. capital — a city
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. capital — money
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — completely
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fork — in a road

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