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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. club — a group
  3. swing — to play on
  4. key — for a lock
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stock — shares
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a city
  14. key — in music
  15. club — for golf
  16. key — the most important part
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. club — for dancing
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. swing — music
  24. wind — moving air

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