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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 116 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 · capital · tear · content · safe · pitcher

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. capital — money
  11. press — to push
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — newspapers
  14. tear — to rip
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter

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