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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bass — low music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. bass — the instrument

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