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

Word bank: fall · capital · last · rule · bass · kick · chest · bulb

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — in football
  5. fall — the season
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bass — low music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — a law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rule — government
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. capital — a city
  22. chest — a box
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bass — the fish

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