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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 116 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: swing · bear · spell · press · capital · club · bass · spring

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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 — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. press — newspapers
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spring — the season
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — a publisher
  14. spring — of water
  15. swing — in golf
  16. spring — a coil
  17. club — a group
  18. spell — letters
  19. press — to push
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. spell — magic
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — money
  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