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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rock — a stone
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. capital — money
  14. rock — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — a video
  24. bulb — for light

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