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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: season · sharp · swing · last · cabinet · stock · capital · row

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stock — shares
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. row — to paddle
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — money
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. last — finally
  12. season — of the year
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. stock — goods
  20. last — final
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. row — a line

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