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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hand — help
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. branch — a division
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bass — the fish
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — money
  24. chip — to eat

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