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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: swing · bass · spell · rash · court · capital · cap · ball

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — for sport
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. court — of law
  9. rash — a series
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. spell — letters
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. capital — a city
  17. cap — of ice
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bass — the fish
  23. court — of a king
  24. cap — a hat

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