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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 120 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: coach · mark · press · mate · lash · bat · chip · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chip — to eat
  3. press — to push
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mark — a trace
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mate — a friend
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. capital — money
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mate — to breed

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