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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: snap · land · capital · swing · bore · fine · march · pitcher

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. land — to come down
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — the month
  5. bore — to tire
  6. fine — all right
  7. bore — to drill
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. march — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — ground
  18. capital — money
  19. swing — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — a country
  24. fine — a penalty

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