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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — to protest
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. capital — money
  9. object — an aim
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. game — a match
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. capital — a city
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bass — low music
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. object — a thing
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in 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