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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. bass — low music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. object — an aim
  7. spring — a coil
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. object — a thing
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a word
  18. object — to protest
  19. spring — of water
  20. root — the cause
  21. bass — the fish
  22. root — of a plant
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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