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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: cold · club · staff · date · court · season · capital · can

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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. can — to be able to
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — an illness
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — of the year
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — a tin
  14. capital — money
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. can — a tin
  17. season — in sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. staff — employees
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. capital — a city

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