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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — a series
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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