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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: board · sharp · squash · swing · rule · capital · file · spring

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a document
  10. board — a committee
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rule — government
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spring — a coil
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. file — a line of people
  20. swing — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. squash — the sport
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spring — of water

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