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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: date · wound · game · chair · spring · lean · club · capital

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. club — a group
  6. game — wild animals
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — the season
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spring — of water
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — a match
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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