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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: press · chair · capital · pitcher · swing · branch · drill · tube

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — in golf
  3. press — to push
  4. capital — money
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. branch — a division
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tube — a container
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. drill — army training
  19. chair — a leader
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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