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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: capital · rush · bay · track · land · press · fan · fall

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fall — the season
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — money
  11. track — a path
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. press — newspapers
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. press — a publisher
  19. land — ground
  20. press — to push
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. land — a country
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — to come down

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