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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: lean · mine · court · board · swing · snap · capital · rash

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. capital — money
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — of law
  5. rash — hasty
  6. board — a committee
  7. rash — a series
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. board — to get on
  10. capital — a city
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — of a king
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lean — thin
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. court — for 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