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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · club · cap · rock · rash · wound · march · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — a series
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a city
  10. club — for golf
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cap — a lid
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — the month
  15. club — a group
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. march — the month
  23. rock — music
  24. march — music

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