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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bass — low music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. capital — a city
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — not warm
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. object — an aim
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. object — to protest
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. object — a thing
  24. pound — for dogs

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