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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: bound · swing · pitcher · last · capital · band · bat · safe

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. swing — in golf
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. last — final
  23. bound — obliged
  24. pitcher — in 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