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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cap — of ice
  3. present — the time now
  4. swing — to play on
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. swing — music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — there
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — a gift
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. field — for sport

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