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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. court — of law
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — an illness
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bass — low music
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pass — a permit
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. capital — money
  24. nail — for a hammer

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