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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — the amount
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wind — moving air
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a path
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — happy
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. track — to keep track
  18. plane — a tool
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bass — the fish

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