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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 120 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: club · ground · rest · swing · field · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. 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 city
  2. field — for sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — money
  5. field — a subject
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rest — what's left
  10. swing — music
  11. club — for dancing
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — crushed
  14. club — for golf
  15. field — farmland
  16. club — a group
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. 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