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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bass — low music
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cap — of ice
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tube — a container
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. capital — money
  17. bass — the fish
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — a city
  20. tube — the underground
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — a lid
  23. root — of a word
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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