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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cap — of ice
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. capital — money
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — a hat
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — a lid
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. arm — a part of something

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