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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: swing · dip · capital · cue · race · fine · bowl · board

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — a contest
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. fine — all right
  7. capital — money
  8. fine — high quality
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — humankind
  18. swing — music
  19. capital — a city
  20. cue — a hint
  21. swing — to play on
  22. dip — to sink
  23. race — the arms race
  24. swing — in golf

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