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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. club — for golf
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mate — to breed
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — a partner
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spring — the season
  19. capital — money
  20. spring — a coil
  21. club — a group
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — a city
  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