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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: swing · mark · capital · bass · pit · march · race · content

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. capital — money
  6. race — a contest
  7. mark — a trace
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bass — low music
  12. content — the amount
  13. swing — music
  14. march — the month
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mark — a grade
  17. march — the month
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bass — the fish
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. content — happy
  24. capital — a city

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