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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — in golf
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mug — to rob
  6. season — of the year
  7. chair — a leader
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mug — a face
  11. swing — music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — a song
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. snap — to click
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. capital — money
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mug — a cup
  23. season — in sport
  24. track — a path

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