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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. can — a tin
  8. swing — music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. swing — to play on
  11. can — a tin
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — money
  14. can — to be able to
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pound — a weight
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. band — a music group
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pound — for dogs

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