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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: bear · swing · bay · shower · tear · capital · coach · kick

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kick — in football
  4. capital — a city
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. shower — to wash
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — rain
  24. coach — a trainer

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