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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: sharp · cold · kick · bass · capital · mouse · chair · fall

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bass — low music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. capital — a city
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. capital — money
  21. cold — an illness
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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