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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: tear · band · season · bass · capital · rest · snap · trunk

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. season — of the year
  8. rest — a break
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — to rip
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. bass — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bass — low music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — what's left

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