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

Word bank: swing · march · jam · wind · capital · kick

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. march — music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. swing — music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wind — moving air
  18. jam — to spread on bread

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