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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — the season
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mug — a cup
  9. spring — of water
  10. mug — to rob
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. mug — a face
  17. current — electric
  18. spring — a coil
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a music group

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