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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 120 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pop — to visit
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — money
  6. chest — of your body
  7. squash — to crush
  8. face — to point toward
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. current — happening now
  12. field — farmland
  13. squash — the sport
  14. current — of water
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pop — soda
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. chest — a box
  24. current — electric

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