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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. present — there
  3. cap — a lid
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — music
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. swing — to play on
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cap — of ice
  14. present — a gift
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ball — a dance
  17. plane — a tool
  18. capital — money
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a great time
  24. present — the time now

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