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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. swing — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. chest — of your body
  5. craft — a skill
  6. charge — in control
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — to play on
  10. clip — a video
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chest — a box
  17. capital — money
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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