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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: cap · capital · race · fine · last · game · swing · perch

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — to play on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fine — high quality
  13. last — final
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — wild animals
  16. race — humankind
  17. fine — all right
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — the fish
  20. swing — in golf
  21. race — a contest
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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