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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.

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: bass · rest · club · capital · jam · scale · bark · file

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. bark — to shout
  3. file — a document
  4. scale — size or range
  5. club — for golf
  6. rest — a break
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bass — low music
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. rest — what's left
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a tool
  23. club — a group
  24. capital — money

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