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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
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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: game · mine · capital · bass · stem · rock · file · band

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — to come from
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. band — a music group
  18. game — a match
  19. rock — music
  20. file — a tool
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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