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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. clip — a video
  7. swing — to play on
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. season — in sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. toast — bread
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. capital — a city
  14. kid — child
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — money
  24. object — a thing

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