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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — all right
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — army training
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. drill — the tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — money
  14. bass — low music
  15. ground — a position
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitch — completely
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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