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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spring — the season
  5. cell — in biology
  6. swing — music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. press — to push
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fine — all right
  12. perch — the fish
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. capital — a city
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. fine — high quality
  24. capital — money

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