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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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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: band · content · tear · cold · pit · capital · press · net

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. net — for catching
  5. press — newspapers
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — to rip
  12. net — after costs
  13. content — happy
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — in sport
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a city
  21. content — the amount
  22. press — to push
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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