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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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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: capital · snap · chest · plane · content · arm · degree · press

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — a box
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. content — the amount
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. snap — to click
  7. press — to push
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. capital — a city
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. press — a publisher
  18. capital — money
  19. content — happy
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chest — of your body
  24. arm — part of the body

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