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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bass — the fish
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. firm — a company
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. land — ground
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. land — a country
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. degree — an amount
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — from a university
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — for digging
  23. branch — a division
  24. capital — a big letter

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