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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: stand · present · press · capital · content · track · mark · kick

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. press — to push
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. track — to keep track
  8. stand — to bear
  9. present — there
  10. track — a song
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — money
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mark — a trace
  15. present — the time now
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mark — a grade
  18. kick — in football
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. capital — a city
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — a path
  23. content — the amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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