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

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. swing — music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. capital — a city
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — in sport
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hand — help
  18. swing — to play on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — of the year
  24. mark — to pay attention

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