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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: tear · band · ground · present · capital · craft · toast · bass

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. toast — bread
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — a city
  6. present — the time now
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ground — a position
  17. craft — boats
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. band — a ring
  20. craft — a skill
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. band — a rubber band
  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