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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.

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: game · dip · capital · season · arm · cold · club · mark

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. season — in sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. club — for golf
  7. capital — a city
  8. club — for dancing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. capital — money
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. club — a group
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. season — of the year
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — a trace

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