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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: jam · row · deal · cold · ground · bass · capital · squash

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. row — a line
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — a city
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. ground — the earth
  8. deal — to handle
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. ground — a position
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — money
  18. bass — the fish
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bass — the instrument
  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