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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: row · stem · rush · press · coach · capital · ground · nail

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — money
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. stem — to come from
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. press — newspapers
  24. nail — for a hammer

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