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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: lean · bat · deal · fall · press · bark · bass · cap

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bass — low music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. press — to push
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fall — the season
  21. bass — the fish
  22. lean — thin
  23. cap — a lid
  24. deal — to handle

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