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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: drill · craft · hand · swing · bay · capital · tube · lean

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tube — the underground
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — thin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. drill — army training
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. drill — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hand — help
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tube — a container
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. hand — in cards
  18. lean — to bend
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — in a tire

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