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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: bass · scale · band · row · capital · race · racket · wave

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. row — to paddle
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. band — a ring
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bass — low music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. band — a music group
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — a contest
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. race — the arms race
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a city
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. capital — money
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wave — of the sea

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