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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. race — a contest
  3. capital — money
  4. swing — to play on
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a city
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — in cards
  18. race — humankind
  19. swing — music
  20. rock — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — help
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cap — a lid

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