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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. object — an aim
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. court — of a king
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a city
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. object — to protest
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. court — for sport
  21. object — a thing
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — the season
  24. plane — a tool

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