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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. swing — music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pit — a hole
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. last — finally
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — final
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. swing — in golf
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — to go on
  22. bound — certain
  23. capital — money
  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