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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — steady
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — to shout
  24. firm — decided

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