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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. swing — music
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. fall — to drop
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — a video

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