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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · land · bat · capital · wake · plane · season · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — to play on
  3. season — of the year
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. plane — a tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — ground
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. land — a country
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. swing — music

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