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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 · capital · bay · perch · band · cold · arm · key

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. band — a music group
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. swing — to play on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. key — the most important part
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — money
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. band — a ring
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a rubber band

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