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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: capital · fan · swing · net · last · stem · mate · press

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. capital — a city
  2. net — in sport
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — after costs
  8. swing — music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — in golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — to go on
  18. press — to push
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. press — newspapers
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mate — a partner
  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