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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: straw · club · wind · land · bass · can · capital · bay

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. can — a tin
  3. bass — low music
  4. capital — a city
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. club — for dancing
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. land — a country
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bass — the fish
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — ground
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. capital — money
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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