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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · capital · chair · tear · pitcher · bank · net · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. press — to push
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — money
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bank — for money
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bank — of a river
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. press — newspapers
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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