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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: bat · nail · kid · tube · capital · bass · ball · bear

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. ball — a dance
  6. capital — money
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bear — the animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bass — low music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tube — a container
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. kid — child
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. capital — a city
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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