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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: trunk · capital · patient · cabinet · bass · fall · wave · object

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — a city
  3. bass — the fish
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — low music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. object — a thing
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fall — the season
  24. cabinet — ministers

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