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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: fall · toast · bass · bulb · cap · tear · racket · branch

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fall — the season
  12. cap — a hat
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. toast — bread
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. branch — a division
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fall — to drop
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — low 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