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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. plane — a tool
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — for digging
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — a group
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. capital — money
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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