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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rock — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fine — high quality
  17. capital — a city
  18. land — to come down
  19. cap — of ice
  20. land — ground
  21. bass — low music
  22. fine — all right
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rock — to move gently

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