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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a ring
  3. scale — size or range
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. band — a music group
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. present — there
  10. scale — in music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bass — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bass — low music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rule — government
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. present — the time now
  22. plane — a tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. rule — a law

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