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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · bowl · row · capital · press · charge · chair · pitcher

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. charge — in control
  3. press — to push
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. net — in sport
  7. chair — a leader
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. row — a line
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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