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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: bass · lean · pit · fork · swing · cap · capital · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bass — low music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. capital — a city
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. swing — music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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