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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: mate · chair · capital · fall · cabinet · drill

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — a city
  3. drill — army training
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fall — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fall — to drop
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chair — a professorship

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