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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: pound · saw · bass · capital · deal · bat · cap · wax

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. capital — money
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. pound — a weight
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — a hat
  21. deal — to handle
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bass — low music
  24. pound — for dogs

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