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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: mate · capital · swing · season · spring · tube · rule · band

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. rule — to rule out
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — a coil
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — the season
  7. band — a ring
  8. tube — the underground
  9. capital — money
  10. mate — a partner
  11. swing — music
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rule — government
  14. swing — in golf
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a music group
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spring — of water
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rule — a law
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mate — to breed
  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