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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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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: capital · season · suit · pop · band · lash · scale · row

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. suit — in cards
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. row — a line
  10. pop — to visit
  11. suit — clothes
  12. suit — to fit
  13. season — in sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. band — a music group
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — size or range
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. scale — in music

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