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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. hand — help
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. last — finally
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — to breed
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — a box
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bass — low music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. last — final
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mate — a friend

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