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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: cue · capital · hand · kick · march · season · swing · pound

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — in cards
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. capital — money
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. hand — help
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cue — a hint
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kick — in football
  17. pound — a weight
  18. swing — music
  19. cue — a signal
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — the month
  24. season — in sport

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