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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
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: dip · cell · hand · press · chip · bat · pop · capital

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. pop — soda
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — a phone
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — help
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pop — music
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. capital — money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. press — newspapers
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pop — to visit

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