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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. swing — to play on
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cell — in biology
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. swing — in golf
  10. season — of the year
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bear — the animal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. capital — money
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. track — a path
  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