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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — in a road
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. face — to confront
  14. season — in sport
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. capital — a city
  18. mate — to breed
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bass — low music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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