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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bass — low music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pass — a permit
  12. stock — shares
  13. squash — to crush
  14. hand — help
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. stock — goods

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