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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: swing · key · wound · mouse · capital · bat · cabinet · rest

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rest — what's left
  7. capital — a city
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. key — in music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rest — a break
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. swing — to play on
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — for baseball

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