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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: cap · mate · capital · wound · swing · rule

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. rule — a law
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. cap — a hat
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter

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