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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: bass · capital · ruler · pitcher · swing · bat · court · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. capital — money
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bass — the fish
  24. court — of law

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