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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: hand · pitch · press · rest · current · roll · capital · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. press — to push
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pitch — completely
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. roll — a cake
  8. swing — to play on
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. current — electric
  17. capital — a city
  18. roll — a list
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — help
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. capital — money

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