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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 120 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: safe · bass · mouse · shower · capital · chest · pass · file

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. capital — money
  9. chest — a box
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bass — low music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. pass — a permit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. file — a document
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. capital — a city
  24. chest — of your body

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