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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cap — a hat
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. band — a ring
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — boats
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — from a university
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a music group

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