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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bass — low music
  4. can — a tin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. can — a tin
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rock — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. can — to be able to
  24. file — a document

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