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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.

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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: lean · capital · bat · plane · hide · swing · firm · row

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. firm — steady
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. firm — a company
  10. row — a line
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a city
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — to paddle
  19. firm — decided
  20. lean — thin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — money
  24. plane — in geometry

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