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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 120 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 · tear · perch · lie · cap · rock · bass · tube

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bass — low music
  6. rock — music
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fall — the season
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rock — a stone
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tube — a container
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. lie — an untruth

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