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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bound — obliged
  10. net — after costs
  11. club — a group
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bank — for money
  15. prune — to trim
  16. net — for catching
  17. stock — goods
  18. club — for golf
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stock — shares
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — a soup base

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