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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: rush · cold · bat · toast · kick · firm · capital · swing

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — music
  4. kick — in football
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — steady
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. firm — a company
  12. capital — money
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. firm — decided
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. swing — to play on
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rush — hurry
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — a thrill

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