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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.

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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: sharp · capital · wind · race · bay · clip · game · bass

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. bass — the fish
  6. race — the arms race
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — for paper
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. bass — low music
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — exactly

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