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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 120 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
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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: snap · face · capital · swing · chair · bat · stock · spell

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — music
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bat — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — money
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stock — goods
  11. face — to point toward
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spell — magic
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spell — letters
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. snap — to click
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — in an idiom

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