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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: bat · tear · mouse · swing · capital · hide

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. capital — a city
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. swing — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — to play on
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying

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