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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · wind · pass · land · track · bass · spell · capital

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. land — to come down
  8. capital — a city
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. land — ground
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. land — a country
  19. track — a song
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — to keep track
  24. capital — money

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