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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kid — to tease
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — money
  9. bank — for money
  10. present — the time now
  11. pop — to visit
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bank — of a river
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — wild animals
  17. present — there
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. game — a match
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — soda
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rest — a break

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