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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. suit — to fit
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. capital — a city
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. race — humankind
  15. bass — low music
  16. mark — a grade
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. suit — clothes
  21. rock — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — a stone

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