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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — money
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fall — the season
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. swing — in golf
  21. branch — a division
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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