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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.

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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: cell · swing · ground · mouse · capital · saw · dip · bat

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. swing — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cell — in biology
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — a phone
  13. swing — to play on
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. swing — in golf
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cell — in a prison

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