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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fall · lie · straw · bass · hide · clip · cap · pop

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pop — soda
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pop — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cap — a hat
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — low music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — the season
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bass — the fish
  23. clip — a video
  24. bass — the instrument

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