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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: cold · mug · bear · rock · bat · mate · capital · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mug — a cup
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mug — a face
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — an illness

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