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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. ground — a position
  3. bass — the fish
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. track — a song
  7. dip — to sink
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — money
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fine — high quality
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fine — all right
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bass — low music
  23. dip — a sauce
  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