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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.

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: trunk · game · ball · bass · capital · pop · patient · craft

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bass — low music
  5. pop — music
  6. craft — boats
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. capital — a city
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. ball — a great time
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — a skill
  23. capital — money
  24. pop — soda

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