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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 116 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: club · clip · capital · swing · season · bass · game · bank

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. club — a group
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bank — for money
  5. swing — music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. swing — in golf
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. swing — to play on
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — for dancing
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — low music
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — money
  18. club — for golf
  19. season — in sport
  20. bank — for money
  21. bass — the fish
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — to add flavour

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