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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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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: clip · mate · club · capital · root · swing · drill · bowl

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. swing — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — a group
  9. capital — money
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. drill — army training
  14. mate — a friend
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. club — for dancing
  20. swing — to play on
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — a video
  23. root — the cause
  24. swing — in golf

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