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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — money
  5. rash — a series
  6. rush — hurry
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. rash — hasty
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pitch — completely
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. kick — in football
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. swing — in golf
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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