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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: file · season · swing · sharp · wake · suit · capital · cap

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — a city
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. file — a line of people
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wake — a trail
  9. swing — to play on
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. file — a document
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. swing — in golf
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — music
  17. cap — a lid
  18. capital — money
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — of ice
  22. suit — to fit
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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