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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: rock · capital · bass · track · pitch · last · cap · lie

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. last — finally
  3. bass — low music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. capital — a city
  7. rock — a stone
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lie — to recline
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — a lid
  15. track — a song
  16. last — final
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cap — a hat
  21. last — to go on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bass — the instrument

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