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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: capital · pitcher · net · press · kid · toast · chest · bulb

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. press — a publisher
  6. net — for catching
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. chest — of your body
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. chest — a box
  18. capital — money
  19. net — in sport
  20. press — to push
  21. net — after costs
  22. toast — bread
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. press — newspapers

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