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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · swing · arm · mug · land · perch · coach · capital

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — a cup
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. swing — in golf
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. perch — the fish
  16. season — of the year
  17. mug — a face
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. swing — music
  22. mug — to rob
  23. swing — to play on
  24. arm — part of the body

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