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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — to rip
  3. capital — a city
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. march — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bass — low music
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — the fish
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. net — for catching
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pop — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — money
  24. tear — from crying

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