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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bass — low music
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fine — high quality
  12. ground — the earth
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fine — all right
  15. bass — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. capital — a city
  21. ground — a position
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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