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

Word bank: bank · capital · fall · wind · swing · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bank — for money
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bank — of a river
  8. swing — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — money
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — the season
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. 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