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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. spring — the season
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spring — of water
  11. swing — in golf
  12. branch — a division
  13. bass — the fish
  14. scale — in music
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bound — certain
  17. scale — size or range
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bound — obliged
  23. capital — a city
  24. bass — low music

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