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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spring · rule · kick · cap · capital · board · swing

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. board — a committee
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cap — a lid
  8. spring — of water
  9. kick — in football
  10. board — to get on
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. season — of the year
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. season — in sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. swing — music
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. board — a flat piece

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