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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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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 · mark · bark · clip · swing · capital · spell · spring

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mark — a grade
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. season — of the year
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spell — magic
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spring — of water
  17. swing — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spell — letters
  20. clip — a video
  21. season — in sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. spring — the season

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