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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · hide · bat · lie · fall · saw · pop · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pop — music
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pop — soda
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lie — to recline
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. capital — a city
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. saw — the tool

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