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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. swing — in golf
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a lid
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. spell — letters
  8. mug — a face
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — a short time
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — magic
  13. mug — to rob
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mug — a cup
  19. swing — to play on
  20. capital — a city
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. file — a document
  24. suit — to fit

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