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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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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: chair · march · content · stick · swing · kick · capital · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. content — the amount
  5. march — the month
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kick — in football
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. capital — a city
  17. content — happy
  18. march — music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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