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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: capital · toast · swing · hand · bound · mine · lean · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — money
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bound — tied together
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bass — low music
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bound — obliged
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lean — to bend
  17. toast — bread
  18. swing — music
  19. lean — thin
  20. hand — help
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bound — certain
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bass — the fish

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