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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. court — of a king
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — to fit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a city
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — to play on

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