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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: land · swing · track · lean · mate · spring · capital · hide

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — of water
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — a country
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — a coil
  14. track — to keep track
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — to play on
  17. lean — thin
  18. spring — the season
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — a partner
  21. swing — in golf
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — music
  24. hide — animal skin

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