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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · capital · pop · bat · board · bass · spell · fan

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pop — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — money
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. board — a committee
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — the fish
  19. board — to get on
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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