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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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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: bass · prune · capital · object · file · rash · pitcher · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. file — a document

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