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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 · capital · content · bore · wind · kid · calf · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. capital — a city
  10. bore — to drill
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — to tease
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. content — happy
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — money
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bass — low music
  23. kid — child
  24. pass — to succeed

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