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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: season · capital · swing · date · fan · kid · deal · content

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. season — of the year
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — happy
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. kid — child
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. content — the amount
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. capital — money
  24. kid — to tease

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