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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: wind · rock · fall · scale · capital · lash · jam · bass

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — low music
  3. rock — music
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bass — the fish
  8. scale — in music
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. capital — a city
  11. rock — a stone
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. capital — money
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — the season
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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