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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.

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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 · land · lie · rest · bound · fall · bass · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fall — the season
  3. lie — to recline
  4. land — a country
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bass — the fish
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bass — low music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — a break
  17. capital — money
  18. land — ground
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. track — a path
  22. bound — certain
  23. capital — a city
  24. track — a song

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