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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cap — a lid
  14. capital — money
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mine — for digging
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mate — a friend

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