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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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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 · net · pop · key · bat · capital · hand · vault

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. capital — money
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — after costs
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pop — to visit
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pop — soda
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. key — in music
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bat — the animal
  17. press — to push
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — help
  20. press — newspapers
  21. net — for catching
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pop — music

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