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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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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: bat · snap · cap · calf · bark · lie · swing · capital

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cap — of ice
  6. snap — to click
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — a city
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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