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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bank — of a river
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fall — the season
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. land — ground
  14. rock — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — a stone
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — to come down
  20. bank — for money
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. capital — a city

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