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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — in cards
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. fall — the season
  11. cell — a phone
  12. suit — clothes
  13. capital — money
  14. suit — to fit
  15. branch — a division
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. spring — the season
  19. pass — a permit
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pass — to succeed

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