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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — after costs
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. present — there
  10. staff — a stick
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — size or range
  13. net — in sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. present — the time now
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — a city
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — in football
  21. staff — employees
  22. bulb — for light
  23. present — a gift
  24. scale — in music

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