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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. land — a country
  3. stem — to come from
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. file — a document
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bass — the fish
  11. key — in music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bass — low music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. key — the most important part
  16. land — to come down
  17. fine — all right
  18. file — a tool
  19. capital — money
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — size or range
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. scale — for weighing

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