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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. swing — in golf
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — money
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. content — happy
  10. key — the most important part
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. key — in music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. key — for a lock
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. vault — a safe

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