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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — music
  4. rash — a series
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bass — low music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. field — a subject
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. capital — money
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bass — the fish
  24. field — for sport

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