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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: saw · press · hand · last · racket · track · capital · safe

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. press — newspapers
  3. track — a path
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. capital — a city
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hand — help
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — to go on
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. last — finally
  19. capital — money
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — a song
  24. racket — for tennis

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