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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — to rob
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mug — a face
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. capital — a city
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fall — to drop
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. fall — the season
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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