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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. capital — a city
  3. ground — crushed
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bass — the fish
  6. file — a document
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. capital — money
  14. land — a country
  15. file — a tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bank — for money

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