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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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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: nail · season · deal · wind · stick · pop · capital · club

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. season — of the year
  3. club — for golf
  4. wind — moving air
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. deal — to handle
  12. season — in sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pop — to visit
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pop — soda
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — money
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. club — a group

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