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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: cold · swing · trunk · pit · capital · season · club · present

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. club — for dancing
  3. swing — music
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. season — of the year
  17. club — a group
  18. season — in sport
  19. pit — a hole
  20. swing — in golf
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. club — for golf
  24. trunk — of a car

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