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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: wound · bass · perch · capital · firm · leaves · cap · lash

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cap — a lid
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. firm — steady
  5. bass — low music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. firm — a company
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. firm — decided
  20. bass — the fish
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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