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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — to go on
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bass — the fish
  8. race — the arms race
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. race — humankind
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — final
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. capital — money
  18. chip — in a computer

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