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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: ball · capital · rest · stand · bass · calf · race · clip

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bass — low music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a city
  7. rest — a break
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — a video
  15. ball — a dance
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bass — the fish
  20. capital — money
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. calf — a young animal

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