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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: season · swing · march · pit · capital · hand · rock · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — a stone
  7. season — in sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — help
  10. pit — in a race
  11. swing — music
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — in cards
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. swing — to play on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rock — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a match

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