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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: kid · firm · craft · capital · squash · content · swing · date

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — in golf
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — decided
  7. craft — a skill
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kid — to tease
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. swing — music
  14. craft — boats
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. squash — to crush
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kid — child
  20. capital — money
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. date — the fruit
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — a company

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