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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: capital · court · club · swing · kick · bulb

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. kick — in football
  6. court — of law
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. bulb — for light
  12. swing — music
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bulb — for light
  16. swing — in golf
  17. court — of a king
  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