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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. club — a group
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. clip — a video
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. club — for golf
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rest — what's left
  22. swing — to play on
  23. capital — a city
  24. kid — to tease

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