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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.

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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: fall · spell · capital · swing · game · pitch · lash · content

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. swing — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. swing — to play on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. game — wild animals
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fall — the season
  22. spell — magic
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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