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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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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: fan · last · chair · swing · can · land · band · capital

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. swing — to play on
  10. can — a tin
  11. last — final
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — a country
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. can — to be able to
  20. band — a music group
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. swing — in golf
  23. land — to come down
  24. can — a tin

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