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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a ring
  6. current — electric
  7. capital — money
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pit — in a race
  11. band — a music group
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pit — a hole
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rash — hasty
  19. current — of water
  20. swing — to play on
  21. file — a tool
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. current — happening now
  24. swing — in golf

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