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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: cap · pop · tear · bass · chest · hide · lean · pit

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chest — a box
  9. pop — soda
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — low music
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cap — a hat
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cap — of ice

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