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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — in golf
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. scale — in music
  8. staff — employees
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — a city
  13. roll — a cake
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — money
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. staff — a stick
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. scale — size or range
  21. roll — a list
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  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