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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — the underground
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — a song
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — music
  24. track — to keep track

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