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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: fall · bass · face · perch · lean · lash · date · capital

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — to confront
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lean — thin
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — to bend
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bass — the fish
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. capital — money
  24. fall — the season

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