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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 · racket · capital · bowl · spring · current · bass · nail

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bass — the fish
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — electric
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  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