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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · march · row · swing · straw · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. toast — bread
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. swing — music
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. row — to paddle
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. march — the month
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a city
  17. march — music
  18. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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