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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. swing — to play on
  4. suit — clothes
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a music group
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. suit — to fit
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — a city
  16. suit — in cards
  17. fine — all right
  18. swing — in golf
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — money
  24. fine — a penalty

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