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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
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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: degree · cell · press · capital · date · swing · charge · drill

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. drill — the tool
  3. degree — temperature
  4. swing — music
  5. press — newspapers
  6. degree — from a university
  7. charge — a price
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — army training
  14. swing — in golf
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cell — a phone
  17. capital — a city
  18. charge — electricity
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. charge — in control
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cell — in biology

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