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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. net — in sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. net — for catching
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — a city
  10. net — after costs
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. swing — music
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. spell — a short time

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