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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: net · swing · bark · season · cold · mark · capital · bass

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — to shout
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — low music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. swing — in golf
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. season — of the year
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. net — for catching

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