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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 120 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 · file · bass · lie · nail · wave · fork · last

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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. capital — a big letter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. capital — money
  7. bass — low music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — final
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a document
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lie — to recline
  22. last — to go on
  23. file — a tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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