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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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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: prune · tear · fall · bass · stick · capital · bowl · current

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. capital — a city
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. current — happening now
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — money
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. current — electric
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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