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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — low music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a city
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mug — a face
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. capital — money
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wind — moving air

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