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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 · bank · kid · capital · swing · mate · straw · lean

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lean — thin
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. swing — music
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. capital — money
  16. mate — a partner
  17. capital — a city
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bank — of a river
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. season — in sport

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