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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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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: bay · track · pass · wind · file · capital · bass · pound

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bass — low music
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — the fish
  9. file — a document
  10. track — to keep track
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. track — a path
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. track — a song
  18. capital — a city
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pound — a weight

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