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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. land — ground
  4. scale — in music
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. capital — money
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. deal — to handle
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a ring
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. pitch — completely
  22. land — to come down
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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