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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lie — to recline
  5. club — for dancing
  6. swing — music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — to play on
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. club — for golf
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — a group
  18. pop — music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pop — to visit
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — money
  24. swing — in golf

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