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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: key · prune · jam · capital · bass · bat · mug · bear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mug — to rob
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. key — in music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. capital — a big letter

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