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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 · last · bat · jam · capital · fan · lean · bound

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bass — low music
  11. lean — thin
  12. last — to go on
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bass — the fish
  16. last — finally
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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