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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: bowl · capital · file · press · band · pitch · deal · charge

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. band — a music group
  4. deal — to handle
  5. charge — a price
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. file — a line of people
  11. charge — in control
  12. file — a tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a ring
  17. file — a document
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — money
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. press — to push
  24. charge — electricity

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