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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. rule — a law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pass — a permit
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — government
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spell — magic
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — letters
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rule — to rule out

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