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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: rock · racket · sharp · bass · ground · mine · capital · hide

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rock — a stone
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. ground — a position
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bass — low music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. ground — crushed
  21. capital — money
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rock — music

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