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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: field · scale · rush · bass · wake · lash · pitch · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. field — for sport
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bass — low music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. scale — in music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wake — a trail
  14. capital — a city
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. field — a subject
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — money
  23. field — farmland
  24. scale — size or range

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