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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.

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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: pitch · hand · race · press · mouse · last · capital · trunk

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. last — to go on
  4. press — newspapers
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. capital — a city
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hand — in cards
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — money
  12. hand — help
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. last — final
  16. race — the arms race
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. race — a contest
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pitch — completely
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. race — humankind
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. press — a publisher

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