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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — money
  5. bass — low music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — a position
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fine — all right
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — a city
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. chest — a box

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