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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: bay · lean · capital · field · band · swing · dip · chair

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. swing — to play on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a city
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. field — for sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. field — farmland
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. dip — to sink
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. capital — money
  24. band — a rubber band

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