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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: bowl · swing · present · capital · wind · spell

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — to play on
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wind — moving air
  9. present — there
  10. swing — in golf
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spell — letters
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — money

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