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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: capital · pit · bass · bank · ball · cold · content · kick

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pit — in a race
  3. capital — a city
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. capital — money
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cold — not warm
  21. content — happy
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — a hole
  24. content — the amount

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