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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — money
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. track — a song
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — for catching
  14. track — to keep track
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mark — a grade
  17. land — a country
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mark — a trace
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wound — an injury

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