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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. capital — a city
  3. ball — a great time
  4. capital — money
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fall — the season
  7. board — a committee
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. board — to get on
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. hand — in cards
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — help
  19. ground — the earth
  20. game — a match
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — to drop

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