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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: key · capital · arm · spell · swing · pitcher · land · rash

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — ground
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. rash — hasty
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rash — a series
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. key — in music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — letters
  22. capital — money
  23. key — for a lock
  24. spell — a short time

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