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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pit — a hole
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. capital — a city
  14. key — the most important part
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bear — the animal
  19. craft — boats
  20. capital — money
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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