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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. firm — a company
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — a city
  6. pop — soda
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. capital — money
  10. swing — in golf
  11. firm — decided
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fall — the season
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. firm — steady
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. swing — music
  24. pop — music

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