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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: suit · bat · cap · capital · club · spell · march · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — a group
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. club — for golf
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — child
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — a lid
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. club — for dancing
  20. kid — to tease
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cap — a hat

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