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

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ground — crushed
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ground — the earth
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bass — low music
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. 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