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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: track · kick · capital · press · firm · prune · ball · hand

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. 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. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a great time
  5. press — a publisher
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. firm — steady
  8. press — to push
  9. firm — decided
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. firm — a company
  16. hand — help
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ball — a dance
  21. kick — in football
  22. press — newspapers
  23. capital — a city
  24. 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