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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — in sport
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. capital — money
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. field — farmland
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bass — low music
  12. net — for catching
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. capital — a city
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — for a lock

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