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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: scale · press · tear · temple · pitch · tube · kid · cap

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tube — a container
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tear — to rip
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. tear — from crying
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. scale — in music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. kid — child

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