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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. can — a tin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mine — for digging
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. can — a tin

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