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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. scale — in music
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. row — a line
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. capital — a city
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. scale — size or range
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — a division
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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