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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: bowl · capital · field · kid · cabinet · bass · ground · snap

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bass — low music
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a city
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. capital — money
  14. snap — to click
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — a subject
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ground — the earth

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