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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · deal · fall · bat · wake · capital · foot · ball

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fall — the season
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bass — the fish
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — a city
  19. wake — a trail
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — money

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