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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 120 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: march · bass · racket · row · sharp · capital · lean · ball

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — low music
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. march — the month
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. ball — a great time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ball — a dance
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a city
  24. row — to paddle

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