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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: rush · craft · shower · swing · chest · capital · sharp · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — music
  6. rush — hurry
  7. craft — boats
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — a city
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. craft — a skill
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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