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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. net — for catching
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. lie — to recline
  12. capital — money
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. net — after costs
  22. file — a tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. bass — low music

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