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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: press · firm · hand · capital · pitcher · rule · swing · prune

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — in cards
  6. firm — a company
  7. rule — government
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — in golf
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — to play on
  15. press — a publisher
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — steady
  24. hand — help

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