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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · spring · bowl · wax · pound · file · pitch · bass

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bass — low music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a document
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. file — a tool
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spring — of water
  23. bass — the fish
  24. spring — the season

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