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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bass — low music
  4. roll — a list
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. court — for sport
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — money
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bass — the fish
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — a straw man

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