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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: bay · bass · tear · capital · mouse · lean · prune · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lean — to bend
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — thin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. capital — a city
  18. face — to confront
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mouse — the animal

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