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

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. roll — a list
  4. band — a music group
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. face — to confront
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — money
  11. band — a ring
  12. face — to point toward
  13. roll — a cake
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. ground — crushed
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. capital — a city

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