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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fall — the season
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. lie — to recline
  15. branch — a division
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a city
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hand — help
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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