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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. capital — a city
  8. drill — a practice
  9. staff — employees
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — in golf
  23. capital — money
  24. bat — for baseball

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