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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — in golf
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chair — a leader
  15. capital — money
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tear — to rip
  24. swing — to play on

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