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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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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: shower · kid · swing · club · drill · ball · bulb · capital

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. swing — in golf
  3. drill — the tool
  4. swing — to play on
  5. capital — a city
  6. drill — a practice
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. kid — to tease
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — army training
  14. club — for dancing
  15. ball — a dance
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. shower — rain
  18. club — a group
  19. bulb — for light
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bulb — for light
  22. club — for golf
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. ball — a great time

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