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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. swing — music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. land — a country
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. swing — in golf
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of law
  15. land — ground
  16. court — of a king
  17. pop — soda
  18. land — to come down
  19. snap — to click
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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