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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 · wake · lean · fall · race · staff · bass · wound

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. staff — employees
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bass — the fish
  6. staff — employees
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. race — humankind
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. race — a contest
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — to rest against

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