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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 120 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: patient · swing · capital · arm · kid · press

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — a city
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. swing — to play on
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. press — newspapers
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. press — a publisher
  9. swing — in golf
  10. press — to push
  11. swing — music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kid — child

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