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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 · chip · bass · court · straw · pass · fall · branch

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. court — for sport
  3. pass — a permit
  4. chip — for betting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cap — a hat
  15. branch — a division
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. court — of a king
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fall — the season

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