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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hand — help
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — humankind
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rock — music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — the fish
  14. swing — in golf
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — a stone
  17. capital — money
  18. swing — music

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