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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pop — music
  7. row — a line
  8. court — for sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. land — a country
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pop — to visit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. court — of a king
  15. capital — money
  16. court — of law
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — ground
  21. cue — a signal
  22. land — to come down
  23. cue — for pool
  24. pop — soda

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