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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · fine · lash · wound · bat · pop · swing · bank

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pop — music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bank — for money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — all right
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pop — soda
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. swing — music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — high quality
  20. capital — a city
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. swing — in golf
  23. capital — money
  24. bank — for money

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