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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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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: scale · pop · cabinet · cap · rash · fall · wind · hand

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. scale — in music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pop — music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. hand — help
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pop — soda
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pop — to visit
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rash — on the skin

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