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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. swing — music
  8. object — to protest
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. object — a thing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tube — a container
  14. land — to come down
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. object — an aim
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fan — a supporter

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