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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. swing — in golf
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to click
  6. row — a line
  7. stand — to bear
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wake — a trail
  12. swing — to play on
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. capital — money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. swing — music
  24. capital — a city

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