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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 124 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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. toast — bread
  3. track — a path
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. charge — a price
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. charge — in control
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pit — in a race
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bass — the fish
  17. track — a song
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. charge — electricity
  23. pit — a hole
  24. capital — money

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