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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: toast · tear · cap · dip · lash · bass · plane · lie

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. toast — bread
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. lie — to recline
  12. dip — to sink
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cap — a lid
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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