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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: press · season · rash · chair · capital · wound · swing · root

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. rash — a series
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. root — the cause
  12. press — to push
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. root — of a word
  15. press — newspapers
  16. swing — to play on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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