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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — music
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fine — all right
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — in biology
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. cell — in a prison

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