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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. capital — a city
  8. bass — low music
  9. capital — money
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. net — after costs
  12. lean — thin
  13. object — an aim
  14. lean — to bend
  15. object — a thing
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — in sport
  19. object — to protest
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — rain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. board — to get on
  24. net — for catching

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