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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: bass · game · capital · press · rest · net · wake · sharp

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. capital — a city
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — for catching
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rest — a break
  12. game — a match
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. net — in sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. net — after costs

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