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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bass — low music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bound — obliged
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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