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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: hand · capital · ball · toast · root · season · bass · scale

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. hand — in cards
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a great time
  8. capital — a city
  9. bass — the fish
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — money
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bass — low music
  19. root — of a plant
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — of the year
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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