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

Word bank: wake · cell · foot · chair · trunk · fall · nail · capital

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — a trail
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cell — a phone
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — to drop
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — money
  24. nail — for a hammer

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