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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. pop — music
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. clip — for paper
  10. content — happy
  11. bass — low music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. content — the amount
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bass — the fish
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  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