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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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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: lash · arm · tear · fall · toast · capital · bass · rock

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rock — a stone
  8. toast — bread
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fall — the season
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tear — from crying
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rock — music

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