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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
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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: cap · dip · mate · bass · tear · lie · pitcher · bark

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cap — a hat
  15. lie — to recline
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — low music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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