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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 · racket · kid · hand · wax · tube · deal · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. hand — help
  2. press — to push
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. press — newspapers
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tube — a container
  10. wax — to grow
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tube — the underground
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. press — a publisher
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  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