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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: deal · club · rule · wound · wave · sharp · capital · season

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. club — for golf
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. capital — money
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — for dancing
  10. season — of the year
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. season — in sport
  16. rule — government
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. club — a group
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. capital — a city

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