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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mug — a face
  5. swing — music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — money
  8. mug — to rob
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mug — a cup
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spell — letters
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. stock — shares
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stock — goods
  18. spell — magic
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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