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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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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: capital · staff · land · bass · key · face · file · pop

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — to visit
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. face — part of the head
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — ground
  13. capital — money
  14. key — for a lock
  15. staff — employees
  16. face — to point toward
  17. land — to come down
  18. face — to confront
  19. pop — soda
  20. land — a country
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. file — a document

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