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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: game · rest · lean · spell · capital · swing · pit · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rest — a break
  5. swing — music
  6. game — a match
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. object — a thing
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. pit — a hole
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — a city
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. game — wild animals

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