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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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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: capital · bass · rest · key · bat · pop · rock · board

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. board — to get on
  5. capital — a city
  6. board — a committee
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pop — music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. rock — a stone
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rest — a break
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rest — what's left

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