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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: swing · sharp · tube · cell · snap · perch · capital · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a city
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tube — a container
  7. cell — in biology
  8. swing — in golf
  9. staff — a stick
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. perch — the fish
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. sharp — clever
  24. capital — money

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