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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spell — letters
  3. drill — the tool
  4. spell — a short time
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. plane — a tool
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bass — the fish
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — magic
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. capital — a city
  16. race — the arms race
  17. capital — money
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. branch — a division
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bass — the instrument

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