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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: bass · capital · board · wave · kid · tear · bat · season

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — low music
  4. season — in sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kid — to tease
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. season — of the year
  14. kid — child
  15. board — a committee
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — the animal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. board — to get on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — with your hand

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