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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.

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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: club · mate · capital · prune · swing · charge · wind · dip

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. club — for golf
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. swing — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. charge — a price
  9. mate — a friend
  10. dip — to sink
  11. charge — electricity
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mate — a partner
  14. prune — to trim
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. club — a group
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — for dancing
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. charge — in control
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. wind — moving air

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