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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: fan · capital · mug · march · swing · pop · nail · bat

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — music
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — in golf
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pop — music
  24. bat — the animal

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