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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rock — music
  3. capital — money
  4. swing — in golf
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a city
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — to come down
  17. swing — music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. plane — a tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rock — a stone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. deal — an agreement

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