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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 120 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: bass · content · cabinet · staff · capital · bore · spell · swing

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — low music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — the amount
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to tire
  9. capital — money
  10. swing — in golf
  11. spell — a short time
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spell — magic
  14. swing — music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — happy
  20. bore — to drill
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bore — gave birth

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