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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. swing — in golf
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. firm — steady
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. swing — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — of ice
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. firm — decided
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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