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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. season — in sport
  6. rock — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. swing — music
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rock — a stone
  16. swing — to play on
  17. capital — money
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ball — a dance
  21. sharp — clever
  22. season — of the year
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ball — a round shape

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