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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. squash — to crush
  3. craft — boats
  4. capital — money
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bass — the fish
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — in music
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. capital — a city
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. scale — size or range
  19. craft — a skill
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. dip — to sink

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